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प्रश्न
What are some of the notable features told about snakes in the lesson?
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उत्तर
There are more than 2300 different kinds of snakes in the world. Some are up to 11 metres long. Not all are poisonous. Most snakes lay eggs, but many of them give birth to their young.
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संबंधित प्रश्न
Why do the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’? Is he really happy? What does he see all around him?
What does the swallow see when it flies over the city?
Do you think Prashant is good leader? Do you think young people can get together to help people during natural calamities?
Do you think the feeling of depression Johnsy has is common among teenagers?
Read this article about the great Indian Rhinoceros. [You will find the information useful for your group discussion in 5.]
The Indian Rhinoceros or the Great One-Horned Rhinoceros or the Asian Onehorned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicomis) is a large mammal primarily found in north-eastern India, Nepal and parts of Bhutan. It is confined to the tall grasslands and forests in the foothills of the Himalayas.
The Indian Rhinoceros once ranged throughout the entire stretch of the Indo Gangetic Plain but excessive hunting reduced their natural habitat drastically.
Today, about 3,000 Indian Rhinos live in the wild, 1,800 of which are found in Assam alone. In 2008, more than 400 Indian Rhinos were sighted in Nepal's Chitwan National Park.
In size it is equal to that of the White Rhino in Africa; together they are the largest of all rhino species. The Great One-Horned Rhinoceros has a single horn; this is present in both males and females, but not on newborn young. In most adults, the horn reachee a length of about 25 centimetres, but has been recorded up to 57 .2 centimetres in length. The nasal hom curves backwards from the nose. The horn is naturally black.
This prehistoric-looking rhinoceros bas thick, silver-brown skin which becomes pinkish near the large skin folds that cover its body. The male develops thick neckfolds. It has very little body hair aside from eyelashes, ear-fringes and tail-brush.
These rhinos live in tall grasslands and riverine forests, but due to the loss of habitat, they have been forced towards cultivated land. They are mostly solitary creatures, with the exception of mothers and calves and breeding pairs, although they sometimes, congregate at bathing areas.
The Indian Rhinoceros makes a wide variety of vocalizations. At least ten distinct vocalizations have been identified: snorting, honking, bleating, roaring, squeak panting, moo-grunting, shrieking, groaning, rumbling and humphing. In addition to noises, the rhino also uses olfactory communication.
In aggregation, Indian Rhinos are often friendly. They will often greet each other by waving or bobbing their heads, mounting flanks, nuzzling noses, or licking. Rhinos will playfully spar, run around, and play with twigs in their mouth. Adult males are the primary instigators of fights. Fights between dominant males are the most common cause of rhino mortality. Indian rhinos have few natural enemies, except for tigers. Tigers sometimes kill unguarded calves, but adult rhinos are less vulnerable due to their size. Humans are the only other animal threat, hunting the rhinoceros primarily for sport or for the use of its horn. Indian Rhinos have been somewhat tamed and trained in circuses, but they remain dangerous and unpredictable animals.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the Indian Rhinoceros was hunted relentlessly. Reports from the middle of the nineteenth century claim that some military officers in Assam individually shot more than 200 rhinos. In the early 1900s, officials became concerned at the rhinos' plummeting numbers. By 1908 in Kaziranga, one of the Rhinos' main ranges, the population had fallen to around 12 individuals. In 1910, all rhino hunting in India became prohibited.
The rhino has been a major success in conservation. Only 100 remained in the early 1900s; a century later, their population has increased to about 2500 again, but even so, the species is still endangered. The Indian rhino is illegally poached for its horn. Some cultures in East Asia believe that the hair has healing and potency powers and therefore is used for traditional Chinese medicine and other Oriental medicines.
The Indian and Nepalese Governments have taken major steps towards Indian Rhinoceros conservation with the help of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park in Assam, Pobitora Reserve Forest in Assam {having the highest Indian rhino density in the world), Orang National Park of Assam, Laokhowa Reserve Forest of Assam (having a very small population) and Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal are homes to this endangered animal.
Exchange information with another group and record it. Then in groups of four discuss the results of the following:
• Do boys and girls spend the same amount of time at the computer?
• Do their tastes and preferences change as they grow older?
• Are the number of hours spent at the computer/studying at home/leisure/ internet different between boys and girls?
• Do the number of hours per week spent at the computer/studying at home/ internet/ leisure activities change as students grow up?
Of the seven hundred villages dotting the map of India, in which the majority of India’s five hundred million live, flourish and die, Kritam was probably the tiniest, indicated on the district survey map by a microscopic dot, the map being meant more for the revenue official out to collect tax than for the guidance of the motorist, who in any case could not hope to reach it since it sprawled far from the highway at the end of a rough track furrowed up by the iron-hooped wheels of bullock carts. But its size did not prevent its giving itself the grandiose name Kritam, which meant in Tamil coronet or crown on the brow of the subcontinent. The village consisted of fewer than thirty houses, only one of them built from brick and cement and painted a brilliant yellow and blue all over with
gorgeous carvings of gods and gargoyles on its balustrade, it was known as the Big House. The other houses, distributed in four streets, were generally of bamboo thatch, straw, mud and other unspecified material. Muni’s was the last house in the fourth street, beyond which stretched the fields. In his prosperous days Muni had owned a flock of sheep and goats and sallied forth every morning driving the flock to the highway a couple of miles away.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
How many houses were there in the village?
“Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it ?”
“Look, look; see for yourself !”The children pressed to each other like so many roses, so many weeds, intermixed, peering out for a look at the hidden sun. It rained. It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands. A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus, and this was the schoolroom of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up civilization and live out their lives.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Describe the rain and its effect on life on Venus.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
One Sunday morning Squealer announced that the hens, who just come in to lay again, must surrender their eggs.
(i) Why were the hens required to surrender their eggs?
(ii) How did the hens react to receiving this information?
(iii) The three young black Minorca pullets led the other hens in 'something resembling a rebellion'. How exactly did they do this?
(iv) What steps did Napoleon take to put down this 'rebellion'?
(v) How long did the rebellion last? Describe the consequences of the rebellion. What do you learn of Napoleon's character from the way in which he dealt with the rebellion?
In what ways is an ant’s life peaceful?
Answer the following question
When everyone wants a clear sky, what does the rebel want most?
Complete the following sentences.
i. An ant is the smallest, ——————————————
ii. We know a number of facts about an ant’s life because ————————————————————
How did the king reach the rishi’s ashram? Why did the two birds behave with the king differently?
How did the mongoose prove his friendly nature?
What surprised Prem in Pambupatti village?
Answer the following question. (Refer to that part of the text whose number is given against the question. This applies to the comprehension questions throughout the book.)
What was Patrick’s wish? (3)
Multiple Choice Question:
A house becomes a home with ________
Answer the question.
What does he imagine about
The people with whom they live?
Use the word “rebel” in a sentence of your own.
Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box.
| how, what, when, where, which |
Do you know ______ to ride a bicycle? I don’t remember ______ and ______ I learnt it
